FTLComm - Weekes - August 1, 2000

The line between private park and farm garden is hard to define and as you travel around Saskatchewan you will find more and more families are devoting time and resources to make their environments a place to live in and enjoy. Only a mile away from this yard is a yard with a waterfall, lily pads and a path through what seems like a forest. (We will take you to that yard on another trip) This yard is that of Pauline and Phillip Lindenback and how it looked yesterday when we visited them. The picture above shows off Robert Lindenback's rustic bench with the built in bird houses. Bob (Pauline's son) took some unplained aged lumber from a cattle enclosure to create this bench and I you might enjoy seeing it as he has given a lot of thought into making a practice yard piece that is both functional but also interesting to see as it fits into the surroundings so well. On the left is a hummingbird suspended in flight. Over the years Pauline's little foursome of Hummers has grown into an entire flock as they enjoy the garden and decorate the scene with their remarkable presence from spring until fall.

The gazebo above was built by Phillip a few years ago and has continued to be a source of quaint and inspired settings. Phillip and Pauline have no close neighbours to complain so through out the yard and around the house there are a number of charming wind chimes. This little gate garden has its special features including a bird bath and some very unusal plants. As you look at these pictures you can see bird feeders, bird houses and practical ornamentation that

make the yard both hospitable to people but also to a wide range of birds who become amazingly familiar with Pauline. She rescued several barn swallow fledgelings who had been infected with blowfly larva maggots and Pauline removed these and the birds were able to mature and take flight. Phillip's wood windmill is a beautiful work of art that seems to fit into this classic flower patch. The bright purple flowers to the left of the windmill in this picture are considered to be a very bad weed and everyone is urged to destroy it on sight. Pauline some how had it develop in this location and has been keeping a close eye on it to see if it will spread. Because of its showy nature she was reluctant to remove it from this collection of plants in this portion of her garden. The lilies this year are remarkable where ever you go and Pauline's yard really has some great Lillie displays like those seen

in this picture below. These are a bright yellow and provide a nice balance with the petunias that look very nice in a more dispersed manner. The combination of annuals, perennials and potted plants make the area less static allowing from variations from year to year as well as giving more to enjoy as the summer passes by. The front steps to the house are ideal for a potted collection including begonias, and a cascade of other varieties that seem to flower almost continuously. You will notice the hummingbird feeder in the doorway which was attracting the birds and gave me the shot seen near the top

of this page. There is a constant flow of hovering birds in this area all day long as the hungry little flying helicopters move in to grab a drink or wait their turn with six or more at a time in a holding pattern. These pictures were taken around five in the afternoon as the shadows begin to lengthen and the picture below was intended to capture those shadows that dance across the lawn from the stand of aspen that are just around a decade old. The field of Canola in the background stretches out to the South as the farm yard is completely surround by crops with peas across the road to the East and more crops North and West. One is for ever reminded that though this is an island of lawns and flowers it is situated right amidst the backdrop of working

growing fields. With that in mind we call your attention to the potato patch where in this picture if you look very closely you will find brown leaves and damage around the leaf edges caused by the frost. Phillip with his long awareness of weather recalled a similar summer frost a life time ago and how that year the harvest turned out to be very poor. Depending upon the stage of development each of the various crops were in the damage by that frost will not be actually fully known until harvesting begins. Peas may not fill properly, wheat seeds may be shriveled and poor yields of Canola could all be the result.

This picture shows the nasty noxious weed Pauline has left for the time being in her garden. Apparently this plant is truly a menace around sloughs and streams where it grows uncontrolled being out of its natural location and can quickly snuff out the naturally occurring vegetation A few poppies wave in this setting and my goal for our yard is to add some poppies to next year's growth. The rich colours of poppy flowers is a real attraction to me and they seem to be so hardy being able to resist all casual insults. Below is a close up of Pauline's gorgeous Lilies She really loves these plants and was so pleased that I got these pictures of them.

The roses below were a gift from her daughter and their fabulous colour should make them easy to photograph but I was surprised to discover that they are just the opposite. The high saturation of the red seems to overpower the frame and it is easy to see why florist take such care and precision in setting up a flower arrangement to handle the overwhelming power of a single flowers blossom.